Sony Pictures Entertainment Spotlights Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

Commissioned by the BBC, this 8-part series will air worldwide to over 300 Million homes at the end of 2012. Filming for the project begins this week in Addis Ababa and then moves to Denmark over the coming weeks.

The series explores the new world of business through the experiences of the 16 greatest business leaders on the planet in an exciting and groundbreaking format. BBC will heavily promote the series through a fully integrated marketing campaign that combines TV, print, multimedia, and social media.

“Participants for this series were selected because they represent the most inspirational business leaders across the world today! Bethlehem through her ingenuity, business acumen, innovative strategies and deep commitment to building a global brand that serves consumers and workers equally well, has earned her place among this exalted group”, stated Mat Steiner, Managing Director for Sony’s GOGGLEbox division, the production entity producing the series.

In each episode, one legendary business figure will meet an equally legendary businessman or woman and their conversations will be filmed. These two seminal business minds will share with each other, and the global audience watching, their experiences of running a global business, the lessons learned and how their decisions and strategies have influenced the shift in the shape of the global business landscape.

Bethlehem, hailed for creating soleRebels, the 1st global consumer brand to emerge from Africa, will be partnering with business maverick Joergen Vig Knudstorp the Chief Executive Officer of the iconic company LEGO, the 3rd largest toymaker on the planet!

“I am excited about sharing what soleRebels is all about with LEGO’s CEO Joergen Vig Knudstorp. He is someone that I greatly admire, not simply for the fact that he resurrected a cherished global brand making it even better and more meaningful in the process, but for the manner in which he did that – with authenticity and ethics driving the entire endeavor. Those elements are KEY drivers behind everything we do at soleRebels”, stated Bethlehem.

These two business mavericks will meet at LEGO’s storied headquarters in Billund Denmark where they will explore subjects ranging from:

How Vig Knudstorp pulled the beloved 80+ year old LEGO brand back from the brink of death and turned the company into a highly innovative, massively profitable multi-billion dollar globe straddling powerhouse – all while maintaining the underlying authenticity of the LEGO brand.

How Bethlehem built soleRebels from scratch inside her community – one of the world's most impoverished – turning it into a multi-million dollar global enterprise that creates incredible footwear that people around the planet are passionate about while generating creative employment & prosperity inside Ethiopia.

What sustainability means for their enterprises, both known for their innovative approaches to full product and company sustainability.

Their global growth strategies for the next 5 years including how they address their shared idea of allowing consumers to actively engage with their respective brands.